Valley Vibes

St. Patrick’s Day in the Blackstone Valley may not mean parades like the ones that take place in Boston and Worcester, a widespread lifting of a pint at the local pub (there aren’t that many such establishments around these parts) or much of the other fanfare that accompanies celebrations of the life of “The Apostle of Ireland”—a fifth-century bishop and missionary around whom great legend is built.

In fact, a tour of several stores for retailers who are pushing merchandise to commemorate the holiday left us virtually empty-handed.

There is no calculating in dollars or by any other means of measurement what the loss of Brian’s Restaurant, which closed its doors on Sunday night, October 19th, means to the town of Northbridge and the village of Linwood.Brian Snay’s eating and drinking establishment was not just the only pub-style family dining venue of its kind for miles around, it was in a real sense the glue that held a tight-knit neighborhood together.

If ever further proof was needed that the Grafton Flea Market is one of the Blackstone Valley’s most venerated institutions, one need only have visited on a Sunday morning in late June, as we did.

On the sprawling grounds situated along Rt. 140 we immediately struck up a conversation with Jonathan Giantz of Cranston, Rhode Island who was selling rope and bungee cord. Mr. Giantz is one of the Grafton Flea’s new vendors.

The three secluded cabins set off an obscure and rustic road marked by a sign on a tree that reads “Owl crossing” don’t begin to tell the story of Wallis Cove, which is celebrating a 50th anniversary this year.

Neither does the pristine 216-acre Whitin Reservoir with its sandy beach, great bass fishing and pit for bonfires.

Neither does the opportunity that is always available for a guest-house rental for the perfect lakeside setting for casual weddings, corporate planning sessions, birthday parties and family reunions.

It must seem like an optical illusion, all of those “Marty Green Properties” for-sale signs in front of or on the sides of buildings throughout the Blackstone Valley—and beyond.

Surely there are those who have asked themselves, in seeing this blitz of red, white and blue advertising placards, “how on earth can one man, one company, seemingly have such a grip on the business of marketing commercial, industrial and residential property?” Not to mention having more than just a big toe stuck in the waters of property management?

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